In October, the ministry published a new set of guidelines on its website that strictly prohibit officials from giving preferential treatment to certain applicants or deviating in any way from the standard hiring process: openings must be publicized, written and physical exam procedures must be followed to the letter, and the names of all new hires must be disclosed. The new policy, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, aims to standardize recruitment across the country and penalize companies and candidates who violate the regulations. While dishonest applicants can be disqualified or have their social credit scores lowered, employers found guilty of breaking the law can be barred from recruiting for two years. Helping a candidate cheat during exams, meanwhile, will now be punishable under criminal law — a permanent version of temporary measures implemented in 2016.

...The exam for aspiring officials, the guokao, takes place in October and November; in 2016, an estimated 1.48 million applicants competed for just 20,700 positions in government (tỷ lệ chọi 1:71). Passing the guokao or China’s other civil service exams is the only way to secure a so-called iron rice bowl job — a coveted career trajectory that guarantees both security and benefits.

luobo zhaopin, or “radish recruitment,” (tuyển củ cải) implying that the employer digs a hole fit for a specific plant (đào sẵn lỗ cho một cái cây nhất định) — referring to posts that have already been earmarked for a particular candidate, sometimes even with the qualifications for a position being written with a single candidate in mind (tiêu chuẩn công chức đặt ra để dành riêng cho một ứng viên nào đó ướm sẵn).